Hydraulic gripper



06L 17, A B DLEY r AL HYDRAULIC GRIPPER F iled Nov. 21. 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS n 1 BY WW 6 rlhl,

Oct. 17, 1933. BRADLEY ET AL 1,930,640

HYDRAULI C GRIPPER Filed Nov. 21. 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Oct. 17, 1933 I HYDRAULIC GRIPPER Alonzo B. ttfiley, New York, and Marcel B'o'lin, Orangeburg, N. Y., assignor'sto The Fibre Con duit'Company, Orangeburg, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application November 21, 1931 Serial No. 576,600

10 Claims. (01. 214-'-- 1"-)* This invention relates to hydraulic operated jaws, more particularly to the operation of jaws for gripping shaft-like parts on one end and lifting the other end,and to a special way of 'rotatably mounting the apparatus.

Objects of the invention are, the provision of er-constructionwhich-causes the'closing of jaws by means of a hydraulic ram; the provision of'jaw members which are adapted to grip heavy pieces and at the same time give them a tilting motion; the provision of a construction which allows the whole jaw apparatus, including its operating mechanism, to be revolved; the provision of means for adjusting the elevation of the jaws, including operating mechanism to suit the apparatus'from which the jaws are fed; the pro vision of turntable-like means for revolving the jaw mechanism and'othermeans for locking the turntable and preventing it from-rotation at cerwith respect to each other, and of the whole jaw mechanism with respect to its support structure.

Further andother objects of the present invention will be hereinafter set forth in the ac-.

companying specification and claims, and shown in the drawings, which by way of illustration show what we now consider to be apreferred embodiment of the invention.

In the drawings- Figure 1 is a front view of the apparatus attached to a machine for making paper tubes.

Figure 2 isa cross sectional view of the paperroll making machine to which the hydraulic jaws are attached for the purpose of gripping the forming rolls around-which the finished paper tube is located, and-lifting the forming rolls.

Figure 3 is. a front view of the upper jaw, and a cross-sectional view or the lower jaw, the operating mechanism, and the support.

Figure 4'is' a top view of the apparatus; Figure 5 is a front view of the upper jaw, and

a cross-sectional view of the lower jaw, in closed described in our copending application, filed No-- vember 21, l931,'Serial'No. 576,599. The paper forming material is picked up by the mold roll I 1, which is revolved by friotion'al engagement with the couch-r0112. The couch rollis rotated bymeans ofa motor. On the couchroll 2-reststhe forming roll 3 by its own weight and addi tain predetermined positionsrof the jaw members" tional weights, whichare not shownon them-awings. The forming roll 3 picks up the paper" making material fr'oincouch roll 2- and gradiia-ll'y' forms a paper tube around the forming-roll. As soon as this tube has reached the'desi-redtliickness, the spider 4' is revolved one-quarter'tur'n in the direction of the a row. The'foriii'ing r011 3'is'held in the slots 5' of the'spider by'mea iiset guides 6; After one-quarter turn, the forming" roll 3 rolls'out of the slot of the spider nape-flew by the centrifugal force which is obtained during the revolving motion. The roll then rests on on'e end on-the upper part of guide 6 which-is providedwith a stop-7.- on the'other end, itrolls" into the jaws of the lifting-grippert. rhe'gnp ping surfaces of the jaws are" approximately parallel and inclineddownwardly from their outer edgestoward the vertical plane of the gripper pivot-and when the upperjaw is clamped onto the roll, the formingroll 3 is'slightly tilted up on its free end, as shown" by dotted lines'in Figure 1: i 3

Figures 3 ,-4 and 5 show the jaw mechanism 8 more clearly. The lower part 9" has ewe ear like extensions 9a whichact a's'bear'ings for the pi'ri 10 upon whichthe upper jaw 11 is pivoted. i aces of the jaws are provided with exchangeable plates 12 and 13 of softer material than the rehaing-roll s, and held 111 position by bolts 14 amt 1 5. The bolts14, 15 can be tightened rremebeve and are easily accessible. The upper jaw 1 1 has a lever-like extension 16. This'extension'haspnits far end a-projecti0nf17- against which the By;- draulic ram-piston 18 a'buts. The projectio'nlTis' detachable'andis preferably made or s'ertermate-- rial than the hydraulic ram piston-1'8? Tiieu'pper end of the piston 18 isinclined end-hem dia metric depression serving as" a guide; This secures a more. definite contactwiththeprojeotion 17 and less'wear'onthis'projectiom It will be' noticed that'the projectionl'l iscurved'iii such'away that" whenever the piston l'8'movesiupward, there is no rubbing actionon-the projection 1'7, but the abutting partsroll over each othere' On lever 16 is pivoted a depending'pinmember 19 which carries a stop collar 2 0. This collar moves ina cylindrical chamber of thesupporting arm 21 of the gripper. In this chamber, on pin 19 above the, collar 20, a spring 22 is supported. The cylindrical ehember is closed by apiatez'is' securedin place byf slews'fi. I The'plate 23'has an opening just suflicienttoallow free mevem'eh of'thepin 19; It is obvious that theispringzz 1 forces; by engagementvjfith' plate 23 eneeene'r 20, the -lever1'6downward and the projectionl l ofito" vor more cross pins 40.

diameter of the with respect to the shaft 33.

the piston 18. The pin 19 extends beyond the collar 20 lower down through a hole 25 in the supporting arm 21, which is just large enough to allow free movement of the pin. The pin projects at its lowermost position, that is when the jaws are fully open, below the arm 21. The purpose of this projection will be described later.

The hydraulic cylinder 26 is bolted onto the arm 21 by bolts 2'7. The upper end of the cylinder.

is provided with a soft packing which can be greased from the grease cup 28. Any leakage through this packing will be collected in the annular channel 29 which is arranged on the upper part of the cylinder 26. The cylinder can be drained by means of a drain cook 30. The power fluid enters the cylinder at the bottom through pipe 31. i 1

The arm 21 has a cylindrical opening 32 wheby it is seated on the top of hollow shaft 3 3, to

which it is securely held by lock screws 34.

The shaft 33 supports the whole of the jaw mechanism including the hydraulic operating mechanism. Its lower end holds a cylindrical pivot pin 39 which is secured to the shaft by one The pin 39 extends into the step bearing 35. The shaft rotates in and is axially guided by' bearing 36 which is rigidly mounted on a support structure 37. The thrust bearing member 35 can be screwed-upand down in the nut-like part 38 which is rigidly mounted on the support structure 37. By turning the stepbearing, piece 35, it will be raised or lowered, and with it the shaft and the jaws. This raising or lowering of the jaws is necessary whenever the paper tube-forming roll is changed or the thickness of the wall of the paper tube. In such cases, the center line of the spider will also be raised or lowered and the elevation of the lifting jaws must be adjusted so that the form- ,ing rolls roll easily into the jaws.

forming rollis gripped by the, jaws, the free end of the roll must be turned away from the paper- :roll making machine in order to obtain free access and to enable the operator to take the paper tube from the forming roll. This movement, however, must be limited. This is done by the provision of a plate 41 which is provided with adjustable stops 42, which are more clearly shown in Figure 4. This plate is secured by means of nuts on the upper end of four columns 43. These columns extend down through the bearing member 36 and are screwed into a square block 44 which is loose This block 44 is arranged in between two collars 45 and 46 which are rigidly secured to the shaft 33 by means of lock screws 47. It will be understood that by this arrangement, the shaft 33 will take the stop plate 41 with it in its upward and downward movements; While a rotatable movement of the jaw mechanism is possible, the plate 41 cannot rotate but only move up or down.

It is desirable that the whole jaw mechanism be secured in a position so that the center line'of the jaws and lever is parallel to the center line of the spider and forming rolls, as long as the jaws are open waiting for the next forming roll. This is accomplished by a hole 48 in the stop plate 41 into which the pin 19 projects whenever the jaws are open and the center line of the jaws is parallel to the forming rolls. moves upward and the jaws are closed and the forming roll 30 gripped and tilted upward, the pin out of the cylinder. 'jawsare opened. The tension of the spring 22 is As soon as the piston 18 19 is withdrawn from the hole 48 and the apparatus is free for swinging out the forming roll 3.

The hydraulic ram 18 is operated by means of a three-way valve 49 (Figure 1) which is preferably arranged on the left side of the paper-roll making machine. The position of the valve shown in Figure 1 is' the open position, whereby the admission of power fluid to the cylinder is interrupted, while the power fluid can easily run This is the case when the sufiicient to force the ram downward and to force the power fluid out of the cylinder. The location of the valve 49 on the left-hand side of the paperroll making machine'is of importance. On this same side, next to valve 49, is located the fourway valve which operates the mechanism for operating the spider which supports the forming rolls. The operator stands on this side of the machine and can negotiate both valves with one hand.v For swinging out the forming roll, taking off the finished paper roll and swinging back the forming roll and rolling it back into the respective slot on the spider, the operator has to stand in the same place. 1

We claim:

1. A jaw mechanism for gripping and holding heavy work. pieces, a jaw, a base structure for supporting said jaw, another jaw rotatably mounted on the first-mentioned jaw,,a stationary support structure for supporting said base structure, connecting means between said support structure and said base structure, said connecting means allowing a rotating movement of the base structure with respect to said stationary support structure, adjusting means between said connecting means and the stationary support structure for varying the position 01' said base structure with respect to said support structure, and a stop plate provided with-adjustable stops for limiting the movement ofthe base structure.

2. A jaw mechanism for gripping and holding heavy Work pieces, a jaw, a base structure for supporting said jaw, another jaw member movably mounted on the first-mentioned jaw, a stationary support structure for supporting said base structure, and connecting means between said support structure and said base structure, said connecting means allowing movement of the base structure with respect to said support structure, a locking member extending from one of the jaw members, and an aperture on the stationary support structure for receiving said locking member and preventing movement of the jaw mechanism with respect to the stationary support structure at certain positions of the jaw mechanism.

3. A jaw mechanism for gripping and holding heavy work pieces, a jaw, a base structure for sup-. porting said jaw, another jaw rotatably mounted on the first-mentioned jaw, a stationary support structure for supporting said base structure, connecting means between said support structure and said base structure, said connecting means allowing a rotating movement of the base structure with respectto said stationary support structure,

adjusting means between said connecting means support structure.

4. In a jaw mechanism having two jaw members, a base structure, one of said jaw members being mounted on said base structure, the other jaw member having a lever-like extension, a hydraulic operated piston abutting with said leverlike extension at its outer end, said outer end being provided with a curved attachment, said curved attachment abutting with the hydraulic piston, the part of the piston abutting with the lever being provided with a surface of such shape to secure a rolling of said curved attachment over the piston surface and prevent a rubbing action.

5. In a gripping mechanism of the character described, the combination with a rotatable base structure supporting a gripper jaw, of a cooperating gripper jaw pivotally mounted upon said base jaw, power means upon said base structure for operating said pivotally mounted gripper jaw, and means operated by said pivoted gripper jaw for locking said base structure against rotation.

6. In a gripping mechanism of the character described, the combination with a support, a gripper base structure rotatably mounted upon said support, and a gripper jaw upon said base structure of a cooperating gripper jaw pivotally mounted upon said base jaw, an operating lever projecting from said pivoted jaw, power means mounted upon said base structure in operative relation to said lever, and a locking pin connected with said lever adapted to engage said support to prevent rotation of said gripper base structure upon said support.

7. In a mechanism of the character described, the combination with a support, a gripper base rotatably mounted upon said support, and gripper jaw members carried by said base, of locking means between said gripper base and said support, and means under the control of one of said jaw members for operating said locking means.

8. In a mechanism of the character described;

the combination with a support having a stop plate, a gripper base rotatably mounted upon said support adjacent to said stop plate, and gripper jaw members mounted upon said gripper base, said stop plate and gripper base having registering holes for the reception of a locking pin, of a locking pin connected with one of said jaw members operating in said registering holes.

9. In a mechanism of the character described, the combination with a support having a stop plate, a gripper base rotatably mounted upon said support adjacent to said stop plate, and relatively fixed and movable gripper jaw mem bers mounted upon said gripper base, said stop plate and gripper base having'registering holes for the reception of a locking pin, of a locking pin operating in said registering holes and connected with the movable jaw member to lock the gripper base to the support when the movable jaw member is in open position, and vice versa.

10. In a mechanism of the character described, the combination of a gripper base carrying a jaw, with a second gripper jaw pivotally mounted upon said base in operative relation to said base jaw, the gripping surfaces of said jaws being approximately parallel and inclined downwardly from their outer edges toward the vertical plane of the gripper pivot when the jaws are in gripping position, whereby a gripped work-piece will be tilted upwardly in the gripper.

ALONZO B. BRADLEY. MARCEL BOLIN. 

